Well, it's been fun

Hi all

Thea and I are back safely in Aus, and so it is with sadness that I now do the final post for 'the adventures of matt and thea'.

Thea and I would like to say that we've appreciated our readers and comments over the past year - it's tough moving to a new country, and so it really helped knowing there are people out there who were interested in what we've been up to.

The flight back was long, but comfortable given the circumstances.

We're back into the swing of things now. My family came over last night and we had a bbq. It feels like we never left, which is funny.

For those of you we haven't seen yet, we look forward to catching up and saying hi.

So, it's been fun, but this is the end.

Thanks for a great year!

beating jetlag

It's curently almost 2am and I'm talking to Beast on msn and Sam Law on facebook. I'm trying to stay up late, so I sleep in, and then can stay awake again on the first leg of the trip, and so sleep on the second leg, and so be fresh for Sydney. It all looks good on paper...

Packing

Something different - video blog. Sound not very good, so turn up your speakers...

Excess Baggage

Thea and I Just organised to have an extra suitcase posted back home. It's all happening! We arrive in Sydney in 1 week and 3 hours. We will easily beat our luggage home, but it should arrive before Christmas.

It will be well over £150 by the time everything is paid for. That's a seriously big percentage of a ticket home. Australia is a lot more expensive to post to than other countries, because we have really strict quarantine, and that involves all sorts of charges etc.

Its bloomin' cold!

In this our last week in London, people keep asking us what we liked best about living in London. Every time we have been asked we can never really pin point one thing. Maybe its being close to everything or maybe its being locals down at Chutneys, the Indian restaurant down in Wimbledon that does a great buffet on Sundays for £7.50. They now expect us every Sunday.

I can pin point one thing I don't like - the freezing cold! I know it is something that is obvious (and have probably mentioned numerous times before) but if I can at least create some energy by whinging about it I can fight off my numb toes which are currently in socks and Ugg boots.

Tomorrow night is the EMB work Christmas party and it looks like it is going to be a good night. My only worry is fighting off hypothermia getting there and back. The place we are going to is near London Bridge and is going to have a full 3 course meal, circus act and disco. Once I get there I will be fine. The only problem is that the dress code is cocktail attire. Making a woman wear a cocktail dress in potentially sub zero temperatures (or close enough to) is just plain rude. I get cold on a summer night in Sydney. I'm shivering just thinking about it. If its not windy I should be ok. Stay tuned to see if I survive....

Football

Yesterday we went to see Fulham play Manchester City at Fulham's home ground, Craven Cottage. Fulham would be the closest Premier League team to Wimbledon so I guess it was fitting to go support our local team. It was a great little stadium so we really got to soak in the atmosphere. Our seats were amongst the Fulham supporters at the end of the field just to the side of the goal 4th row from the front. A great spot. The chants continually roared from behind us. A home ground stand full of football supporters is something not to be messed with. It was a true football experience though sitting amongst them all as they cheered and stamped their feet. I don't know which was more entertaining in the end - the game or the crowd! Here's a video we took to try and capture the atmosphere.



In true football viewing style we had a vendor hotdog (and lived to tell the tale) and it was absolutely freezing but all in all well worth it! In the second half we had Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, a fellow Sydney sider, defending his goal right in front of us. He was the only player I knew so it was great to see him in action close up. Robinho plays for Manchester City but was out with an injury so we didn't get to see him play. Here's a photo of Schwarzer, with a link to a couple more.

From 2008-12-07 Football

Today we're going to wander around Wimbledon Village which is the more posh part of Wimbledon up the hill near the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Club. We're also meeting up with a few friends from church for a curry for lunch. I've eaten more Indian curry this year than in my entire life. Today will be the third effort this week. Its so tasty though!

Ben Folds Live

On Sunday night we managed to get some tickets to see Ben Folds perform in this cool little theatre in West London. He was great. Such a good entertainer and played some good oldies as well as new songs.

Hearing 'Annie Waits', 'Zak and Sara', 'One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces' and 'Fair' (aka the chicken song - Be bah boop) was awesome! He looks like such a geek but he's a talented geek!

London Lingerings #2

I have slowly but surely grown to appreciate what London has to offer - even as I sit here shivering. I have certainly come full circle on that. As I look back on our time here, the things that stand out seem somewhat trivial considering all that we have seen and experienced this year yet to me they remind me of the fun times spent in London town.

My favourite place to be on the rare sunny and warm afternoon has been sitting on the balcony at Primrose Hill in a pub overlooking Regent's Park in northern London. Its not very close to home but well worth the trip.

I love watching Squirrels run around in the trees outside our apartment building - which is even easier to do now that all the trees have dropped their leaves.

In these colder months I love sitting against the heating panel in the living room and watching tv. I've always sat in front of heaters given the chance.

I like having public transport on time and so frequently.

I still get blown away coming out of Waterloo train station and looking up to see the London Eye and Big Ben.

I've liked visiting the markets around the city and the free museums.

I've liked living so close to the city and it being so easy and quick to get there.

While they aren't as exciting as they were before, I like seeing Double Decker Red buses around and can't even remember what Sydney buses look like. All I know is that they won't look quite right.

Although most of our friends are South African, I've liked learning a little bit about the English culture from the few English friends we have. I've liked being the token Aussie and being over patriotic about everything Australian.

I've liked being able to hop on a plane and be in another country in an hour or two.

I guess all in all, London has been for me the gateway to the world. It has allowed me to see and experience things that most people won't be able to accomplish in their lifetime and yet I've done it in a year. Its been a good year.

See you in 16 days.

London Lingerings #1

I've been requested by a couple of people (Mike T and Sam L) to add a few posts about things that will stick in Thea's and my memory from our time over here this year. So, despite it being almost midnight, I'm going to get the ball rolling with a couple of them. These will be random thoughts, so don't be surprised if they jump around a bit chronologically.

One thing that I remember is being impressed at how well Londoners dress. It's probably a factor of winter clothes naturally looking more dressy, but when Thea and I first arrived in London we felt very under-dressed going anywhere. Black coats always look swish, and so when you're walking around in three hoodies you feel a bit like a bogan. Needless to say, we have since acquired a few decent warm articles of clothing since arriving.

Another thing is the cold. I remember getting to about April and talking to someone about how I'm sick and tired of being cold all the time. No matter how many jumpers you wear, if the weather is just right you will still be cold. This is starkly different to Sydney, where you may feel cold for a total of about 2 weeks a year - the rest is easily manageable.

The food is different too, not heaps different, but enough.

For starters, they love mushy peas over here (imagine a bowl of peas mashed with a fork and slightly soggy). I have no idea what's wrong with firm peas, but there you go.

Indian is very common, which I'm a huge fan of. Indian curry is to London is what Thai food is to Sydney. I'll miss the huge choice of Indian that we have here, and it's cheap!

Going out is also generally expensive. Going out to eat is almost a 1 to 1 £ to $ ratio. The pub down the road sells burgers for £8. Going out for lunch will generally cost Thea and I between £25 and £30. I'm looking forward to take-away being a not so expensive luxury.

There's stacks more to say, but I should go to bed. Stay tuned for more.

Night!

(does this classify as a post Beast?)

Acclimatisation

It's a worry when I look at the weather forecast, see it's going to be 8 degrees, and think "good, not too cold then"...